terranationsfandomcom-20200214-history
Southern Continent
The Southern Continent (sometimes Austrea or Åran/Eran) is the southern of the two continents that comprise almost all of the land of Terra, separated from the Northern Continent by the Equatorial Strait. It has a total area of approximately 8,641,000 square miles and a total population of approximately 997,100,000 spread out over twenty-seven countries, making it the smaller continent in both population and area, although it has the larger number of sovereign nations. The Southern Continent has a very wide range of biomes, ranging from the tallest mountains in the world (the Toranese Mountains between Toran, Ukar, and the Fertile Plains) to the world's largest rainforest, the Central Rainforest, and deserts. The Southern Continent was first settled by nomads who crossed the Equatorial Strait on a land bridge and settled the continent from Ziunia to Toran, developing civilization independently in the Harb River Valley, Déjè River valley, and Incean rainforest. Much of the Southern Continent has been historically part of the Anglean Empire, Toranese Empire or Sednyanese Empire; however, the inner part of the continent, including Ukar and the Central Kingdoms, has historically been very independent and cultural distinct. The Southern Continent is overall poorer than the Northern Continent, and is also more culturally and ethnically diverse. There is much less Anglean cultural influence on the Southern continent; Toranese, Ulamtyri, Ukari and many other cultures also exert large amounts of influence on the culture. Today, all of the countries of the continent aside from the Kingdom of Ukar and North Tyrennea are part of the Southern Continental Community (SCC), which has, since 1982, become a subset of the International Alliance. Political geography The Southern Continent is comprised of twenty-four countries on the mainland. In addition to this, the island nations of Niedeva, Munera, Sutherland, the Western Cays, the Green Cays, Scyon, Kanzefu, Nilana and Mathusa are often considered part of the continent and are part of the SCC, even if they are geographically separate. Languages There are eight major language superfamilies endemic to the Southern Continent, along with English and Qotian, which have both been brought over from the Northern Continent. The most commonly spoken languages are English, Toranese, and Ulamtyri, with the top twenty being: These languages can be broadly arranged into families, of which the major ones are thought to be: Harbic (H-Type) Harbic languages and cultures and considered to be those descended from the ancient civilization of the Harb River, in modern-day Zenia. The type language for this is Zenian, although Zenian itself has been heavily influenced by English. Subfamilies include Upper Harbic, most notably including Ukari (or Great Ukari), with over 50,000,000 speakers throughout the region of Ukar and in Ukari diaspora all across the continent, but also a number of other smaller languages spoken in rural Ukar such at Yatso (c. 30,000 speakers) and Ifak (c. 12,000 speakers). Many regions north of the Kurzegam mountains speak North Harbic languages, which are only distantly related and have largely evolved independently; among these are notably Tlayapan, Maztac, and Nayar, which together have around 3,200,000 speakers. Closely related to Zenian is Tabor, which is the national language of Tabora. Some linguists believe that the so-called "Inceantic" languages share a common linguistic ancestor with the Harbic languages, but this is disputed. Inceantic (I-type) History It is believed that humans first evolved on the Northern Continent, in the historical region of Artius, and migrated to the Southern Continent some time around 5000-4000 BCE via the Ziunari Land Bridge, which was submerged by 3800 BCE. These nomadic hunter gatherers began to spread throughout the continent, converging in areas that proved easy to live in; initially along the Ziun coast and down the Harb River into modern-day Zenia, and eventually all across the continent. The first civilization is believed to have developed independently in the Harb River Valley, where the nomads settled down in the fertile floodplains and began to farm, and also independently in the Déjè Valley of Toran some 500 years later and in the Kharp Valley 500 years after that. There is some debate over an independent origin of civilization on the Bula River; the proto-Inceans had agriculture by 2000 BCE, but it is believed that it may have spread from the Harb River. Category:Continents Category:Southern Continent